Scraper applicable to a conventional spring-clamp floor mop without modification of the latter



1958 A. M. PROVENCAL ET AL 2,845,643

SCRAPER APPLICABLE TO A CONVENTIONAL SPRING-CLAMP FLOOR MOP WITHOUTMODIFICATION OF THE LATTER Filed Aug 17 1954 uZi/zem Mframsvzgal a RajahJIP/vue/wqJ 46 (f l M N a United States Patent Athena M. Provencal andRalph J. Provencal, Waltham, Mass.

Application August 17, 1954, Serial No. 450,288

4 Claims. (Cl. 15105) This invention pertains to floor mops, inparticular to mops of the kind customarily employed for domestic use andwherein a mass of absorbent material, forming the mop head, isreleasably attached to the end of an elongate handle. While of moregeneral utility the invention is herein, by way of example, illustratedand described with reference to its embodiment in a mop wherein aspring-actuated clamp is fixed to one end of a wooden handle, the clamphaving opposed jaws which normally grip the absorbent material betweenthem, the jaws being separable at will to permit the absorbent materialto be removed, for example, for cleaning or for replacement by newmaterial.

In the use of such a mop for floor washing it is a common experience toencounter pieces of material (which are insoluble or difiicultlysoluble) stuck to the floor so firmly that the rubbing action of thesoft mop head will not loosen it. For the removal of such material (forexample, dried dough or the like) it has been necessary to employ somesort of scraping implement, for instance a kmfe, screw driver, razorblade or the like, but such a procedure takes time, in particular if theworker is not equipped with the requisite scraping implement and mustfirst search for one before it can be used. The use of such a devicerequires that the'worker stoop, which is not an easy matter for manypersons, and this mode of procedure greatly delays the Washingoperation. It has been proposed to provide mops with scraper devices foruse in loosening such stuck down masses of material, but so far as isknown to us such prior devices have either formed elements of the mopdevice when manufactured, such special mops being much more expensivethan the conventional household mop or, as if, as has sometimes beenproposed, scraper attachments for existing mops have been provided, theapplication of such attachments to the mop has required the drilling andthreading of holes or other mechanical operations not readily performedby the housewife or other person who customarily uses the mop.

The present invention has for its principal object the provision ofmeans, applicable to the conventional spring- 55 clamp type of mop,without requiring any change or modification of the latter whereby itbecomes possible, without stooping, readily to loosen stuck downmaterial during the normal mopping operation. A further object is toprovide a scraper device which may readily be applied to 60 the ordinaryconventional spring-clamp mop and Which does not in any way interferewith the'mode of use of the mop or with the application of the mop headto the handle and which is of such simple construction that it may besold at a price making it available to almost anyone who customarilyuses a mop. A further object is to provide a scraper device which may,if desired, have rigid scraper means at one end and a yieldable scraperdevice, in the nature of a stiff bristle brush at its other end, andwhich is readily exchangeable for other scraper devices if one or theother of the scraping elements becomes worn from i use. Other andfurther objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out inthe following more detailed description and by reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a perspective view of more orless diagrammatic character showing a mop of a conventional type buthaving the scraper device of the present invention associated therewith,the mop handle being broken off;

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary section substantially on the line 1 1' of Fig.5;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the scraper device of the present inventionremoved from the mop and drawn to larger scale than Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fig. 2',

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary front elevation of the mop device, the handlebeing broken away and the absorbent mop head being omitted, showing thejaws separated and with the scraper device of the present inventionarranged be-' tween the jaws;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary plan view similar to Fig. 2, but to smallerscale, illustrating a modification.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a mop of aconventional type having the handle 11, which is usually of wood, towhose lower end there is permanently secured the upper jaw 12 forming apart of the means for clamping the mop head to the handle. As hereillustrated (Figs. 1 and 6), the jaw 12 is made of sheet metal and hasthe upwardly directed flanges 12 and'12 ,"each of which is provided atits central portion with an arcuate' socket member 13 (Figs. 1 and 5)between which the lower end of the handle is positioned, .the socketmembers being secured to the handle by means of a pin 14 or thelike.Usually, in conventional mop devices of this sort the member 12, asillustrated in Fig. 1 is upwardly con-r cave in order, in cooperationwith the lower jaw, to'insure a firm grip on the mop head.

The lower jaw 15 (Fig. 5) consists .of a length of stiff wire which isbent at right angles at its opposite ends" to provide the parallelportions lfiand 17 which extend up through guide openings such as theopening 12'? (Fig? 6) in the jaw member 12, the parallel portions 16 and17' being of such length as to provide for the desired maximumseparation of the jaws 12 and 15. Beyond the upper ends of theseparallel portions 16 and 17 the wire is bent inwardly (Fig. l) as shownat 16 and 17 respectively, the terminal portions of the wire beingformed as hooks which engage openings in the right and left portions ofan 0 actuating lever 18 which is hinged at its lower end at 19 upon theupper coil of a coiled compression spring G which embraces the lowerpart of the handle andwhi'ch also encircles the socket members 13, thelower end of the spring being anchored to the socket members. 1 Theupper end portion 18 of the lever 18 is desirably'concave so as to fitsnugly against the handle 11, its upper edge being bent outwardly toprovide a finger grip by means of which the lever 18 may be swungdownwardly for the purpose of opening the jaws so as to receive the mophead between them.

In accordance with the present invention, there is pro vided a scraperdevice S (Figs. 2, 3 and 5) which is desirably made of a metal whichwill not rust, for example, stainless steel, hard brass or aluminumalloy, although it is: contemplated that other metals, properlyrust-proofed, hard wood, or certain of the synthetic resins, forexample, resins of the styrene type, particularly if reinforced withsome material such as Fiberglas or hardened by the incorporation ofabrasive powders, maybe employed for the purpose. As illustrated inFigs. 2 and 3, the scraper is elongate, having a longitudinal slot 20(Figs. 2, 3 and 6) Patented Aug. 5, 1958- of. a transverse widthsomewhat greater than the diameter of the wire forming the parts 16 and17, the length of the slot somewhat exceeding the distance between theparts 16 and 17 so that the lower jaw may be slipped into the slot andthe scraper may then be moved upwardly along. the members 16 and 17 to aposition: such as indicated in Fig. 5. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, thescraper comprises the parallel, spaced side members 20 and 20*, andthemetal forming these side members is desirably twisted near the ends ofthe scraper sothat' these side members 20 and 20* are inclined upwardlyin converging relation, so that when the scraper is assembled with thejaw 12 it may fit snugly within the concavity at the underside of thepart 12.

The scraper illustrated in Fig. 2 is provided at one end with a scrapingedge 21 perpendicular to the length of the scraper. This scraping edge21 may be merely the edge of the metal resultant from the cutting of thepart from sheet metal, or it may be beveled, if desired, to provide asharpedge.

At its opposite end the scraper shown in Fig. 2 is provided withintegral tab portions 22 and 23 (Fig. 4) which are bent to cooperatewith the main portion of the end of the scraper to form a socket whichholds a stiff bristle brush B which may be used in place of the rigidscraper edge 21, for example, for loosening material which does notrequire so violent a scraping action as that performed by the edge 21.

In Fig; 7 there is illustrated a modified form of scraper, indicated atS, which in all respects is similar to the scraper of Fig. 2 except thatinstead of the brush B- it is provided at its right-hand end, as viewedin Fig. 7, with a rigid scraper edge 21 similar to the edge 21.

Preparatory to using this scraper device, the clamping jaws 12 and 15 ofthe mop are first separated by operation of the handle 18 so that theyoccupy positions such as illustrated in- Fig. 5, and then the scraperdevice S is applied by moving it up so that the lower jaw 15 of the moppasses through the slot 20 in the scraper, the scraper being moved untilits surfaces 20 and 20 (Fig. 3) are received within the concavity at theunderside of the upper jaw 12. The material forming the mop head M maythen be introduced between the jaw 15 and the lower surface of thescraper, the latter thus acting as an intermediate or auxiliary jaw.After having introduced the mop material between the parts 15 and 20,the handle 18 is manipulated to draw the jaw 15 upwardly, thus firmlyclamping the mop material between the parts 15 and S. The mop is nowready for use in the customary way, but if it becomes necessary duringthe mopping operation to remove stuckdown material from the floor, theuser merely turns the mop handle so as to bring the edge 21 or the brushB into position for use in loosening the struck down material. Theloosening of this material is accomplished while holding the mop handleat approximately the same angle as is used when using the mop forwashing the floor so that the operator is not required to stoop forloosening the stuck-down material. Since the operative ends of thescraper project beyond the mop head, the latter does not interfere withthe scraping operation and need not be pulled out of the way orotherwise manipulated by the hands in order to expose the scraper foruse.

It is apparent from the above description that the scraper of thepresent invention may be applied to an existing mop without requiring;any change or modification whatsoever in the latter, and that itsapplication does not require the use of tools and that its presence doesnot in any way interfere with the application of the mop head or thecustomary use of the mop.

While desirable embodiments of the invention have herein been shown anddescribed by way of example, it is to be understood that the inventionis broadly inclusive of any and all modifications falling within thescope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. For use with a conventional mop having a narrow elongate upper jawfixed to a handle and a movable elongate lower jaw provided withparallel guide elements which are slidably received in openings near theopposite ends respectively, of the upper jaw; a scraper comprising anarrow length of substantially rigid material having therein an elongateslot extending through a major portion. of its length and of suchdimensions that the lower jaw with its guide elements may be passedthrough the slot, the scraper, when cperatively associated with thejaws, acting as an auxiliary upper jaw to receive the mop head betweenit and the lower jaw, the scraper having at one end at least a scraperedge which is substantially perpendicular to the length of the scraper,the scraper being of such length that its scraping edge is exposedbeyond the end of the upper jaw, the scraper being provided at one end,at least, with a still bristle brush.

2. For use with a conventional mop having a narrow elongate upper jawfixed to a handle and a movable elongate lower jaw provided withparallel guide elements which are slidably received in openings in theopposite ends, respectively, of the upper jaw, a scraper comprising anarrow length of substantially rigid material having therein an.elongate slot extending through a major portion of its length and ofsuch dimensions that the lower jaw with its guide elements may be passedthrough the slot, the scraper, when operatively associated with thejaws, acting as an auxiliary upper jaw to receive the mop head betweenit and the lower jaw, the scraper having at one end, at least, a scraperedge which is substantially per: pendicular to the: length of thescraper, the scraper being of such length that its scraping edge isexposed beyond the end of the upper jaw, the under surface of the upperjaw being upwardly concave, and the scraper comprising parallel,marginal parts at opposite sides, respectively, of its elongate slot,said parts converging upwardly toward each other, whereby the scrapermay fit snugly into the concavity of the upper jaw.

3 In combination with a mop of the kind wherein an upper jaw is fixed tothe lower end of a handle, said jaw having guide openings at itsopposite ends, respectively, and a movable lower jaw, parallel to theupper jaw, having parallel guide elements which extend upwardly throughthe openings in the upper jaw, and resiliently yielda'ble means fordrawing the lower jaw upwardly toward the upper jaw, a scrapercomprising a narrow length of substantially rigid material interposedbetween said jaws and having therein a closed elongate slot extendingthrough a major portion of its length and of such dimensions that thelower jaw with its guide elements may be removably passed through theslot, said scraper being freely movable toward and from the upper jawand in use being retained in operative position by the material whichforms the mop head interposed between it and the lower jaw, said scraperhaving a rigid scraping edge at one end, said edge being exposed beyondthe adjacent end of the upper jaw, the scraper having a stiff bristlebrush at its opposite end.-

4. In combination with a mop of the kind wherein an upper jaw is fixedto the lower end of a handle, said jaw having guide openings at itsopposite ends, respectively, and a movable lower jaw, parallel to theupper jaw, having parallel guide elements which extend upwardly throughthe openings in the upper jaw, and resiliently yieldable means fordrawing the lower jaw upwardly to ward the upper jaw, a scrapercomprising a narrow length of substantially rigid material interposedbetween said jaws, and having therein a closed, elongate'slot extendingthrough the major portion of its length and of such dimensions that thelower part with its guide elements may be removably passed through theslot, the scraper being freely movable toward and from the upper jaw andin use being retained in operative position by the material which formsthe mop head interposed between it and the lower jaw, the scraper havinga rigid scraper edge at one end, said edge being exposed beyond theadjacent end of the upper jaw, those portions of the scraper whichborder the longitudinal edges of the slot converging upwardly thereby topermit the scraper to fit snugly within a cavity in the upper jaw of themop.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 6Ritschard Dec. 18, Dunn May 11, Tringa May 14, Hertzberg July 19, PaulOct. 11, Kalinowski May 12,

FOREIGN PATENTS France July 24, Norway Oct. 12, Norway Sept. 11,

